Roy & Frances Clara Mook

MOOK FRANGENBERG MYERS MEYERS

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 9/7/2010 at 01:18:05

History of Woodbury County, Iowa 1984

Roy and Frances Clara Frangenberg Mook
By Betty Mook Winterringer

Roy Mook, the son of Fred Mook and Martha Myers/Meyers was born on March 17, 1898 at Hartley, Iowa in Osceola County. He moved to Plymouth County, Iowa with his parents about 1908. He attended Liberty Country School west of Merrill, Iowa. Roy was very interested in sports and he and his brothers played on the Merrill Baseball team. Stories have been told of the Mook Brothers as being excellent players. He continued his interest in the sport in his later years by umpiring local baseball games.

On October 10, 1921 Roy Mook and Frances Clara Frangenberg were married in Sioux City, Iowa. At the time of their marriage Frances was living on a farm west of Merrill, Iowa, with her parents, William Frangenberg and Katherine Tutschen. She was from a family of fourteen children and was born December 2, 1902, at Leonore, Illinois. Frances attended the Catholic School Leonore and at Anthon, Iowa. He children walked many miles to school and later felt very fortunate to have a horse and buggy for transportation, as the area where they lived was very hilly. Frances completed about the fifth grade. The older children in such a large family were needed to work on the farm and were not able to continue with their education.

Roy and Frances Mook farmed in Plymouth County, Iowa in 1922 and later farmed near South Sioux City, Nebraska. About 1931 they moved to Salix, Iowa where Roy worked as a farm laborer. During the Depression years he was employed with the WPA and during World War II he worked at a defense plant at Meade, Nebraska, while the family continued to live at Salix. After the war ended and the plant closed, he worked for the Swift Packing Company in Sioux City until his retirement.

The depression years were very hard for this young family and Roy, through his hard labor, provided the family with the necessities. The children really didn’t know they were so poor and enjoyed their childhood with home-made breads, pastries and many home canned foods from the gardens. Frances having come from a large family herself, was accustomed to hard work and was very conservative, sewing most of the family clothing during those early years.

Roy and Frances Mook lived south and west of Salix for a number of years. This home was about a mile from the Missouri River. Roy enjoyed hunting and fishing with his sons on the Missouri River bottom land where wild game was plentiful. One of his dreams was to be able to take a fishing trip to Minnesota ‘where the Big Fish were’, and this was realized in his later years.

Roy and Frances worked very hard through their lifetime, never accumulating much in worldly possessions, but giving freely of their time and love for their family. For this they earned the greatest reward in any life, the love and respect of their children. In August 1971 they celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary and all their children were home with their families. This was a very special event for them.

In the 1950’s Roy and Frances moved from the country to the town of Salix and bought their first home.

After the children were grown, Frances took a job outside the home at St Joseph School where she was employed as a cook for the hot lunch program for many years. She enjoyed her job and especially enjoyed being with the children. She retired from this job in 1976 when her health did not allow this type of work.

Roy Mook died December 26, 1971 at Onawa, Iowa, in Monona County and is buried at St Joseph’s Cemetery at Salix. Frances Mook died on February 13, 1979 at Onawa, Iowa, and is buried at Salix beside her husband.